Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-07-01

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dukes Cavalry. He had voted against Sc
cession, but when the war came up d
Joined with his neighbors, and at Plessan
Hill his horse fell and be was Injured 81
he mad to return home. His If
is one series of adventures an
moving accident, and the writer's o
| fiction can not conceive of a character
whose exploits are more thrilling.
FINDING DEMONS GRAVE.
"You spoke Of finding Denton's grave, ,
said the reporter. "Plesse give me the
history of the search"
"HowI came 70 look for Denton's boues
was this way: Denton was killed in 1871
and q great many people had looked fol
! his grave, but nobody could find 1t
Major Jarvis of Fort Worth Il wish
could see him) sent for ne TO come anC
look for them, and l came to Fort
Worth. This was about thirtv-eigh'
years after the bUrying, and
had not been in the country since
came to Major Jarvis house. l stopped
al night. l told him if he would furnish
horse / would 90 and find the place, land
mis- vile fixed me up some provisions 10
carry along. l went out from Fort Worth
one morning and rode along the skirt Of
timber yonder, Peter Smith going with
me. hadn't gone fSr until struck the
trail and could tell by the timber aud the
hills that it was the same one had rode
over thirty eight years before. / rode
slOng until | reached the timbers where |
wanted 10 90, aud alter going around |
met fence and cornfield right on the
trail" And the old man showed an in
dignsnt surprise at the dissertation CON-
mitted by civilization on the once famous
"trail' that he had rumiuated over, men
tally, for nearly half century. eyes,
sir; c0rnfeld and g man named
PUlliam was pulling corn. | told him my
name and that | was coming to dig up
John Denton's bones. He asked me if
was al Dentop'S burying. l told MIN yes.
He asked HE how many was there then
when he was buried | told him seven
and named every one Of them. He laughed
and said thst my name made even 500
who had been to see MIN VINO claimed to
have buried or helped to bury Denton.
He made me have dinner. however, and
we set out il the direction of tie grave.
We went up the forks of Fossil and Trim
ity and around nesr Birdville. There was
9 ridge of post oaks on knoll that run
this side Of the timber; the trail run right
over this knoll and, would you be-
lieye It," said be, again manifest
ind his disgust for the celebrating
methods OF modern times, "the trail was
SO worn by wagon wheels thst l could
hardly follow itl"
1t was amusing 70 see with what feel
ing of profound reverence he spoke Of
the "trail." To him it wGs not priEi-
tive pathway worn out by hCrsemen or
perchance by buffalo herds. It had q
fixed, definite, palpsble immutability. 1t
was the first and ought 10 remain. Tie
hills and skirts of woods, the huge boul-
ders and creek bottoms were there and
the "trsil" used 10 run thus and So The
hills, woods and rocks were atill there
Just as he had seen them in '4l-iust Is
ne had seen them through the eye Of
memory for forty years. There was no
Change sake the CELEBRATION of the
"tTail," here and there, by wagon road or
Dy an obstruction such sc . wire fence ;or
corn field. He evidently could not bring
himself 10 believe that the "trail' could
change any more than the mountains.
II might be oblitersted by the vandalism
OF progress or the blasphemy of advancing
but those guilty were guilty
Of sacIelege, and should receive condign
And who can blame the
old man? The "trail," unknown or in
significant though it be TO US, was TO him
& something that could not be taken away.
L was part and parcel of the picture
upon which ne had gsZed for years; If was
g prominent feature of the landscape over
which he had taken many mental eXCur-
sions, and to change II in any way was to
> !, ba fsi +l 4 holf I'm,
was defective, and that which was old and
dear and treasured, had been rudely shat
ered and cast aside
FINDING THE BONES.
"When we had reached g certain
point" continued Mr.. Stout, 81 sat
down and looked around. The place was
iamilier 10 me. The country was tco
broken for farming, and it was left in its
condition. l did not look long !
Until l pointed out leaning tree and |
old my companion that there Denton !
vas buried. And so he was, though no |
race Of a grave could be seen. l knew |
low we had laid him, and we soon dug
Town. We first found his hip bones, then
PORTIONS of his skull, but most of his re-
mains had Crumbled into dust"
JOHN d. DENTON.
"Who was Denton?" repeated the old |
gentleman in apparent establishment ut
he ignorance Of the bystander who had !
sked the question "John D. Dentoai
vas one of the graudest men Texas eve
He was good man, too, and
brave man. He used to be ciTcui.
ider over in Arkansas, and he was
IA POWERFUL EXPORTER. f
"He came TO Texas at an early day an&8
vas studying law, preaching, farming &n8
lighting Indians. He was pious good
nan, and truer friend or more daring
pirit never lived. His death ard my
Wounds were The result Of bad manage
nent.
THE FIGHT.
81 eau recollect well the day Denton
vas killed. We were living in Red River
ounty, making our corn, and the Indians
sme in on Us and killed eight out of one
smilY. They tortured even the little
hildren. We could nothing without
PROVISIONS, so we made our crop and
COX the trsil. BTigadier-General Tarrant
vas there, but he did not order Us out
We met among ourselves and elected
'owIin our Captain. Tarrant felt slight
d, but wanted to come along, and offered
0 serve under anyone we would elect. |
lWays thought that TarTsnt's laundering
nd cowardice was the cause of Denton's
ieath, and l always will. He got himself
lected to command, and got scared in
he wrong time. We met eight miles
lorth of GAINESVILLE and formed cur com
ANY. We knew where the old Kechi
illage was in Wise county, and went in
he night to Bridgeport On the Trinity,
nd found That the village had been de-
erted. Then we went SOuth on the Jack